Page 51 of Maverick
So I hadn’t imagined it, but…
“Did you mean it?”
His eyes softened, and his mouth eased into a tender smile. “With everything I’ve got. I love you—both of you. I don’t know when it happened, but it feels too good to argue.”
“I love you too,” I whispered. Then, sheepishly, I peered back at Quinton.
“It’s okay,” he told me. “You don’t have to say it to me until you’re ready. We’ve got plenty of time for that.”
Relieved, I settled in Maverick’s arms. We stayed in the bath until the water began to run cold. It was then that Quinton got out to change the bed, pinching my cheek when I blushed over having messed it up in the first place.
I still felt like I was floating in that hazy, in-between consciousness state as Maverick bathed me from head to toe, doing so with such tender movements that it brought tears to my eyes.
Once I was clean, my head was still so fuzzy that Maverick practically had to lift me out of the bath. With the sheets changed, Quinton returned to the bathroom. They each dried me off, then helped me climb into bed. We took the same positions as we had before: Maverick in the middle, with me and Quinton to either side of him.
I’d never done the serious thing before, not since Maverick in college. No one else ever stood a chance.
Laying there, however, with Quinton’s hand in my hair and Maverick’s arm rubbing soothing circles over my waist, it finally felt right.
There was something to be said about the phrase, “right person, wrong time.” As it turned out, Maverick and I worked great together, but we couldn’t be perfect for each other until the missing piece finally came along.
They say that two’s company, and three’s a crowd, but us three?
That was exactly the crowd that I wanted.
EPILOGUE
MAVERICK
Three Years Later
Holy bridezilla.
If I thought Stetson was already a diva, that didn’t hold a candle to how he behaved on his wedding day. I’d been running around all morning, managing disaster after disaster—and trying to keep him from finding out about them.
The venue was in the Middle-of-Fucking-Nowhere in Georgia, where even GPS systems didn’t work, so nearlyeveryonegot lost. If we hadn’t been staying there, I was certain that I would have been among them. I’d been working with Barrett’s brother all morning, directing people to the right place. One of us chased down the photographer, the other the florist, and we took turns with the guests.
Getting dressed proved a whole other issue when Stetson’s hands shook too violently for him to button up his shirt. “Relax,” I told him, rushing across the room to do it before he had a complete meltdown. “This is supposed to be a happy day, remember?”
My best friend closed his eyes and took one of those deepbreaths I’d seen him practice time and time again throughout this entire process. “I just want it to be perfect.”
“And you know what? A venue isn’t going to do that. Neither is a meticulous schedule, powder blue linens over Daphne blue, or yelling at a poor server for dropping a box of cutlery and scaring you.”
Stetson’s cheeks turned a deep red. “Remind me to find him later and apologize.”
I’d already done it for him, but I’d be sure to have Stetson throw in extra on the staff’s tip. “Whatisgoing to make this day perfect, is you and your men. At the end of the day, you’ll have two amazing husbands who get to deal with your shit every day for the rest of their lives.” I fastened the last button on his shirt, then flipped his collar up to work at his tie.
“Thanks, Mav,” he said, swallowing against the tightness in his throat.
“Don’t mention it. Can I get dressed now? Or do you want your best man walking around in his underwear?”
“Hell no. With those thighs? You’ll steal all the attention.”
Snickering—and grateful that my shirt covered exactly what underwear I was wearing—I returned to my side of the room.
The last few years had been a whirlwind for so many reasons.
Reese and I had officially moved into Quinton’s place. He still appreciated his own space, so he’d set up his own bedroom on the top floor. More often than not though, we fell asleep in the same bed. They’d also been interacting more with each other, which warmed my heart. Every time I walked into a room and found Reese in Quinton’s lap, or caught Quinton stealing a kiss, it solidified that the three of us just…worked, even if it took them another year to utter the “L” word.
